According to rules proposed by the Department of Transportation (DOT), passengers may be able to sue airlines for breach of contract if flights are delayed too long on the tarmac,.If adopted, the rules would require airlines to develop contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays — including time limits for such delays. Those contingency plans and limits would become part of each airline’s contract of carriage, a legally binding agreement that outlines an airline’s responsibilities to passengers. Also under the proposed rules, the agency would declare flights that remain “chronically delayed” to be an “unfair and deceptive practice,” opening carriers up to possible civil penalties. The Department of Transportation would require carriers to publish flight-delay data on their Web sites.Source: The Wall Street Journal; find article here>>.